This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The INBRE network provides an ongoing basis for the continuing development of training of students in the biomedical and behavioral sciences at College of the Atlantic (COA). The work supported by INBRE continues to support students, and the increased involvement of students from the physical sciences and mathematics suggests that the program is developing more breadth in the types of students it is attacting to comparative genomics and related fields. Our graduates with research and training supported by INBRE continue to successfully enter graduate school in the biomedical sciences, and current students and recent graduates are working in local laboratories as research assistants and gaining valuable experience and expertise in molecular biology. Over the academic year we had students at both the Jackson Laboratory (JAX) and Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory (MDIBL) and in summer of 2008 we had students working at MDIBL. Our connections with both JAX and MDIBL are broad and our network now includes connections with researchers at multiple laboratories at both facilities. The strong connection between administrators at COA and educational coordinators at both JAX and MDIBL continues to make student placement easier and more successful. The annual Maine Biological and Medical Sciences Symposium, that has been revitalized with INBRE support, has provided both an outlet for students to first present their research and has provided another venue for increased contact between COA faculty and students and faculty and researchers from other institutions. These multiple avenues of contact between students and faculty from COA with other institutions continues to be one of the strongest benefits of the program.